The Future of Media in Europe: Towards an Agonistic Public Sphere

Description

The new forms of media affect the lives of both citizens and journalists. Sparked by a group of international scholars from around Europe, joined by Finnish journalists and practitioners, this open discussion event engages with intertwined themes of the hybrid media systems, the emergence of populists who contest the status quo, the emergence of distrust of the status quo that further generates fake news, polarisation, and the spread of populist logic to other fields. What kinds of consequences does this have for journalistic work, media production, consumption patterns, and how we discuss common European themes and the European project? How can we counter the emergent hate speech, polarisation, and mistrust that proliferates online with better communication and journalism? As the public sphere as consensual phenomenon is challenged, how can we turn antagonism into agonism?
This discussion invited students, researchers, and alumni of the University of Helsinki to engage with these contemporary themes. The open event was sponsored by the Academy of Finland #mediasoc WhiKnow project "Whirl of Knowledge: Cultural Populism and Polarisation in European Politics and Societies" @Whi_know, and co-organised by Now-Time Us Space #rohkeatekijä Kone foundation project both led by Emilia Palonen @epalonen Senior Lecturer of Political Science at the Faculty of Social Sciences.

Period	21 Feb 2020
Event type	Other
Location	Helsinki, FinlandShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International